Mpox phenotypic evolution and adaptable diagnostics for active pathogen tracking

Applications are invited for a 3.5-year PhD opportunity to join the molecular virology group led by Prof Carlos Maluquer de Motes at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom). The recent emergence and global spread of mpox have revealed multiple gaps in our understanding of poxvirus biology, their evolution and their capacity to cause disease. In recent years, our group has established multiple lines of research on poxvirus biology including mpox in collaboration with national and international groups. This includes seminal studies on mpox evolution (Ndodo et al., 2023; Sumner et al., 2025), immune evasion (Georgana et al., 2018; Hernaez et al., 2020) and disease control (Cavuto et al., 2025; Bakamutumaho et al., 2026). We are now offering a fully-funded PhD studentship to recruit a motivated individual looking for a challenging, interdisciplinary project to study how viral genetics influence mpox phenotypic evolution and disease control. Through collaboration, you will have access to mpox genomic sequences from mpox patients, enabling real-time identification of mutational signatures. You will then determine the impact of these mutations on multiple fronts, including state-of-the-art diagnostics, host responses to infection and virus-host interactions. The project will train you in computational genetics, virology, innate immunity and a variety of omics technologies, and you will be supported by PDRA and PGRs at different stages of their careers and a network of close collaborators. For informal queries and further details about the project please email c.maluquerdemotes@surrey.ac.uk.

Applications should be submitted via the Biosciences and Medicine PhD programme page. Please clearly state the studentship reference number (STU00001641), title and supervisor on your application.

References

• Bakamutumaho et al. (2026). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6580838. 
• Cavuto et al. (2025). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57647-3. 
• Hernaez et al. (2020). https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abb4565. 
• Ndodo et al. (2023). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02456-8.
• Sumner et al. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.27.640535. 

Open to candidates who pay UK/home rate fees. See UKCISA for further information.

Applicants are expected to have a good honours degree (first or upper second) and a masters degree in a relevant discipline. Experience in virology and/or innate immunity will be advantageous, but not essential.

You will need to meet the minimum entry requirements for our Biosciences and Medicine PhD.